Local Natives Announce Departure Of Co-Founder Kelcey Ayer, Cover Adrianne Lenker For SiriusXMU
Los Angeles indie harmonizers Local Natives have been a band since 2005, and they always come across as very close friends, so it’s a surprise whenever the band’s lineup changes. Bassist Andy Hamm left the band in 2011, and now they’re about to go through their first personnel change since then. Now, Local Natives have announced that Kelcey Ayer, a singer and multi-instrumentalist in the band ever since their origin, is leaving.
Local Natives, who recently released their twin albums Time Will Wait For No One and But I’ll Wait For You, announced Ayer’s amicable departure in an Instagram post last night. He’s sticking with the group for their upcoming tour dates, but then he’s making his exit. Here’s what they wrote:
A big theme of Time Will Wait For No One, But I’ll Wait For You is being there for one another, and part of that is accepting change. With that, we wanted to share that our latest album and its upcoming tours will be the last with Kelcey as a member of Local Natives. We started making music together when we were teenagers, our bond is so much deeper than just bandmates; we have a true family love between us. While we’re of course sad to see our very talented and wonderfully weird friend go, we’re supportive of his decision to step away from Local Natives to focus on other projects. We’re excited to see what lies ahead for Kelc and wish him nothing but the best.
Endings are also new beginnings. For the four of us, this next chapter gives us a chance to reimagine what it means to make music together, and ultimately has deepened our commitment to Local Natives. Any impasse or threshold in life can feel like you’re on shaky ground, but it can also be a creatively generative time. We’re working on new music, we’re psyched about the future of LN, and can’t wait to share the next chapter when the time comes.
The TWWWFNO BIWFY era will be the last with Kelcey. For now we’re looking forward to celebrating what we have all done together over the last six records, and what’s yet to come.
Love,
LN
Kelcey Ayer, who released a 2017 solo album under the name Jaws Of Love, wrote his own post about leaving the band. Here’s what he wrote:
Feels pretty surreal to be saying this to you all, but after 20 years of playing with these guys, I’ve decided to leave Local Natives. This isn’t a decision that I’ve come to lightly. I’ve spent more time with this band than I’ve been alive without it. People ask me all the time what it’s like, and I have to pause and gather myself for the extensive list: we’re creative collaborators, business partners, live performers, sometimes arch-rivals, most-of-the-time giggly teenagers, and despite not being blood-related, it’s felt as close to a family as I think you can get. They are above all else my brothers. I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys. The highest highs and lowest lows, all dealt with compassion, camaraderie, awe-inspiring talent, humility, character, joy, and steadfast loyalty. I’d kiss them if I was more sexually attracted to them and my wife would allow it. I don’t think the Eagles can say that. You have a lot to learn, Eagles.
The reason I’m leaving is because Ryan tore a sticker off my kick drum back in high school that I really liked and I’ve just been waiting for the right moment — k, I’m sorry, I’ll be serious. Being in a band this committed and this intense comes with a lot. It’s your entire life, and just doesn’t leave a ton of room to build anything else. While I have cherished so so much all that we’ve built, I’ve always wanted space and time to build other things. I have my own music and my own interests that I’d like to see flourish, and while my bandmates have always been supportive, the reality is that time is finite. It came to a point that I realized my whole adult life I’ve been a part of one thing and I just year to explore. I don’t know what the future holds, but I just want to find out what that can be on a wide open road.
I just want to say I feel so lucky to have been on this journey with my bandmates and with you. I want to thank you all for your support of this band; taking us into your hearts, rejoicing and grieving with us, and making us a part of your lives. I really wish the best for LN moving forward and am excited to see what they make in the future. Life is long, and who knows, maybe I’ll be LN’s John Frusciante, but for now I’ll say this is not the end of Local Natives or the end of me. I’m excited to celebrate this last year of shows with you all (I’ll be here for the last phase of touring/ promoting TWWWFNO & BIWFY, so the end isn’t quite here yet). And I hope you’ll understand that life is complicated. I can love them and love myself. And at almost 38 in one week, I want to see what it’s like to choose myself.
I love you all. I love you Ry, Tay, Matt, Nik, Sara, Mara, Nada and Lindsey (and Mel duhhhhh). And I’m excited for all our futures. All of us! Except the Eagles.
Love,
Kelcey
Wow, I wouldn’t have started typing all that out if I’d realized that there were multiple slides. Well. Anyway. Here we are. In other Local Natives news, the band, Kelcey Ayer included, did a richly harmonized cover of Adrianne Lenker’s newish song “Sadness As A Gift” is a recent SiriusXMU session. Here’s a clip:
You can apparently watch the full cover here, but maybe you need a Sirius membership or something. Time Will Wait For No One and But I’ll Wait For You are out now on Loma Vista.
